Dell
Computers
Dell Mini
9 Review
Last year, the world of budget notebooks
was turned on its head with the introduction of the
ASUS Eee PC: A 2-pound laptop with a 7-inch screen
and a starting price below $300. Prior to 2008, "budget
notebooks" were bulky, overweight 15-inch laptops
while "ultra-portable" notebooks commanded
a premium price well above $1,000. In no time at all
terms like "budget ultra-portable," "subnotebook,"
and "netbook" became part of the techno-geek
vocabulary. Every notebook manufacturer on the planet
(even some that you might not know) scrambled to create
their own "netbooks" ... and Dell has finally
joined the party.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is an 8.9"
netbook with a $349 (Linux) or $399 (Windows XP) starting
price and some impressive features. Dell was kind
enough to supply us with a pre-production copy of
the Inspiron Mini 9 so that we can conduct in-depth
testing and let you know if this netbook really is
"your new best friend" ... or just the weird
kid you try to avoid on the bus.
Build and Design
The design of the Dell Inspiron
Mini 9 is quite similar to other netbooks we've seen
in recent months. The exterior is covered in glossy
plastics with smooth lines, rounded edges, and a style
that looks like it's trying to strike a balance between
"fun" and "functional." The look
is pretty basic, almost like a miniature version of
the Inspiron 1525 notebook. Glossy plastic is found
on the top of the screen cover as well as around the
entire LCD and palm rests. Matte black plastic is
used on the base of the netbook and on the keyboard.
Overall, the look is quite nice, but the glossy LCD
lid is a magnet for fingerprints and makes the new
netbook look a little tarnished after just a few minutes
of use.
The build quality of the Mini 9
is amazingly solid for a subnotebook of this size
and weight. The construction is mostly plastic but
all of the plastics feel strong enough to handle being
tossed around inside a bookbag. Even the glossy plastic
surfaces seem to resist minor surface scratches. However,
the most impressive build quality element in our pre-production
unit was that the inside of the chassis is reinforced
with magnesium alloy in at least one location (behind
the keyboard and in front of the battery). This helps
the Mini 9 withstand much more abuse than a typical
all-plastic netbook.
In terms of upgradeability, the
Mini 9 is much easier to upgrade than most netbooks
currently on the market. Many of the netbooks we've
seen to date require complex disassembly in order
for you to get to the storage drive, system RAM, or
wireless cards. Even worse, some other netbooks have
slots for upgrades but no connections on the motherboard
so it is impossible to upgrade them. This is not the
case with the Mini 9.
Dell engineers were wise enough
to place all key upgradeable components in one area
directly beneath a simple access panel that you can
remove with a regular Phillips screwdriver after removing
two screws. The Mini 9 uses standard notebook DDR2
RAM (800MHz underclocked to 533MHz), standard wireless
mini cards, and a mini PCIe SSD card.
Operating System and Software
As mentioned, Dell offers the Mini
9 with either Windows XP or a customized Ubuntu Linux
operating system. Our pre-production unit came equipped
with Ubuntu, and the Dell-developed custom interface
is point-and-click easy and acts similar to Windows
... only easier (if you don't try to install new applications).
The Mini 9 comes preloaded with
dozens of useful applications for everything from
work and email to listening to music and watching
movies. Unlike the many free applications that come
preinstalled on Windows-based computers, almost none
of the applications on the Ubuntu operating system
should be considered "bloatware." In fact,
almost every application on this netbook is both useful
and easy to use.
Click on the "Web" icon
and you can select from one of multiple bookmarks
or just open the Firefox web browser. Click on the
"Productivity" icon and you'll have instant
access to the Open Office application (compatible
with Microsoft Office) or Adobe Reader for PDFs. Click
on any standard movie file and the video plays in
either the Media Player application or inside Firefox
... you don't need to spend hours searching for video
plugins and codecs, the movies just play. Don't waste
time downloading iTunes. Just plug in your iPod and
the Music Manager detects the music player and begins
importing the songs. It's all part of the beauty and
simplicity of Linux. Things just work.
On the other hand, if you ever find
that you need an application that isn't already installed
in Linux then you need to be familiar with the console
and typing strange lines of code like "sudo dash"
and "apt-get." In other words, it's not
as simple as just downloading a Windows program installation
file from a website and clicking "install."
If you're concerned about Linux,
don't worry. Dell is also offering the Mini 9 with
Windows XP, so the Microsoft faithful can breathe
a collective sigh of relief.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Most low-priced, full-size notebooks
currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards
that show significant flex/bounce when typing pressure
is applied. Thankfully, most netbooks have remarkably
firm keyboards due to the fact that the chassis is
so small there isn't much empty space inside the notebook
for the keyboard to flex or bounce.
The keyboard on the Mini 9 is less
cramped than what we've seen on the 7-inch and 8.9-inch
ASUS Eee PCs, but the Dell keyboard is still very
compact. Even though I've gotten used to typing on
netbook keyboards, the first few hours I spent typing
on the Mini 9 were quite frustrating as the small
footprint and tiny keys require you to use a "hunt
and peck" style of typing rather than traditional
touch typing methods. This means that passwords get
mangled, emails look like gibberish, and playing games
that require keyboard commands becomes quite aggravating.
Of course, once I got used to typing
on the tiny keyboard the keys felt just fine ... but
this keyboard isn't designed to be used as a primary/main
computer. For users who would buy this notebook as
their "main computer" in their home or office,
a full-size keyboard and external mouse are recommended.
The only "major" complaint
I have about the keyboard on the Mini 9 is that the
function keys are all located in the middle of the
keyboard rather than the top row. Also, there is no
F11 or F12 key ... which is bad for people who use
F11 to maximize their web browser window or use F12
as a programmed shortcut key. Please, Dell, give us
F11 and F12 on the next generation of this netbook!
The touchpad design is surprisingly
nice for a budget netbook. The surface isn't exactly
"large" but it is larger than what we see
on most netbooks. The touchpad in our pre-production
unit was a Synaptics touchpad with excellent sensitivity,
responsiveness, and smooth tracking. The touchpad
buttons are located in the correct position and have
nice, deep, well-cushioned presses with no annoying
"click" when pressed.
Display
The glossy LED backlit display on
the Mini 9 is nice and vibrant with rich colors and
good contrast. The white levels are very clear, leaning
towards the slightly warm/orange side. Colors look
excellent with the glossy screen, but at the cost
of increasing screen reflections and glare. The screen
might be bright enough to view outside, but with all
the bright reflective surfaces outside, the screen
is nearly impossible to view comfortably. Indoors
the reflections are not a problem at all.
Horizontal viewing angles are good,
so you and a friend won't have trouble watching a
movie on the 8.9-inch screen at the same time. Vertical
viewing angles are acceptable, but colors do tend
to wash out from above and become inverted when viewed
from below.
Ports and Features
Port selection was better than average
for a netbook, with a multi-card reader, three USB
ports, Ethernet/LAN, VGA, and audio jacks. There isn't
much to complain about here, although there might
have been enough space in the chassis design to support
an additional USB port or Firewire. Here is a quick
tour of what you get:
Performance
Our regular selection of performance
benchmarks can't be used with the pre-production Inspiron
Mini 9 given the fact that it is a Linux-based notebook.
We will be publishing a follow-up in the coming weeks
with details of how Windows XP performs on the Mini
9, so please keep an eye open for that.
In the meantime, we can measure
the time it take to perform a number of simple procedures
in order to give you an idea of how the Mini 9 performs.
Please keep in mind that the speeds listed below will
vary depending on the number of applications you have
open at any given time (multitasking always slows
things down).
For those interested in the speed
of the 8GB SSD, hdparm benchmarks the SSD buffered
read speed at 26.91MB/sec. For comparison, the 4GB
SSD in the ASUS Eee PC 4G performs at 21.78 MB/sec.
Meanwhile, a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 with a fast 7200rpm
Seagate hard drive has a buffered read speed of 54.62
MB/sec and a Toshiba Tecra A9 with standard 5400rpm
hard drive has a buffered read speed of 44.87 MB/sec.
While the Mini 9 won't win any awards
for performance within applications, startup is quite
fast and overall performance is fast enough to keep
most users happy.
True 1080p HD video content might
be out of the question based on the specs of the Mini
9, but the pre-production unit used in this review
was able to handle up-scaled standard-definition video
with stable frame rates and smooth sound.
Speakers and Audio
While we're on the topic of sound,
the speakers on the Inspiron Mini 9 are reasonably
impressive for a budget netbook. While the two tiny
stereo speakers located beneath the screen can't compete
with the audio quality found on larger multi-media
notebooks, the speakers are perfectly capable of playing
short video clips or system sounds. As long as you
don't make the mistake of trying to listen to old-school
hip hop on the built-in speakers you might never notice
the lack of bass.
The only strong negative I have
against the built-in speakers is the fact that the
maximum volume level doesn't get as loud as I like
without distortion creeping into the sound.
The headphone jack on the Dell Inspiron
Mini 9 works well with the three different brands
of earphones I used during the test. No static or
other noise was noticed through the jack besides imperfections
in the audio source itself.
Heat and Noise
As we continue to see in our labs,
nearly all of the Intel Atom-based netbooks produce
a reasonable amount of heat while running. The Dell
Inspiron Mini 9 is no exception to this rule. Under
normal conditions such as surfing the web, typing
a document, or downloading email attachments, exterior
temperatures remained at acceptable levels. The hottest
spot on this netbook was the area around the wireless
card, so if you're on a flight or away from a WiFi
connection it might be a good idea to turn off the
wireless card to keep temperatures even lower. The
external temperature readings below (listed in degrees
Fahrenheit) were recorded while browsing the Web and
watching an AVI movie file for approximately 30 minutes:
In terms of noise, our pre-production Mini 9 is quite
remarkable in that it makes literally no noise. There
are no cooling fans or spinning hard drives to bother
you (or the people seated next to you) while you work.
Of course, the fact that the Mini 9 lacks a cooling
fan is likely why the temperatures on this netbook
are slightly higher than what we've seen on some other
Atom-based netbooks. Still, the Mini 9 never becomes
unacceptably warm, so we accept this minor heat increase
in exchange for absolute silence.
Battery
Under normal use, backlight at 100
percent and using wireless for web browsing and watching
several DivX movies at 75 percent volume, the Mini
9 managed to deliver three hours and 38 minutes of
battery life. This is similar to what we've seen from
Atom-based netbooks with 3-cell batteries, but we
were hoping for more given the 4-cell battery in the
Mini 9. Hopefully battery life will improve when we
test Windows XP on this machine. Still, even with
only 3+ hours of battery life, the Mini 9 provides
a reasonable travel experience for a netbook priced
below $400. Lowering the screen brightness and turning
off the wireless card should provide enough battery
life for prolonged use.
Conclusion
Dell wants you to believe the Inspiron
Mini 9 is "your new best friend." Well,
kiddies, the Mini 9 is a fantastic mobile companion
that helps you stay connected and makes your life
easier without breaking the bank. However, I can't
shake the feeling that the Mini 9 is more like "the
kid you're friendly with at the lunch table, but isn't
your BFF."
Yes, the Mini 9 is a great netbook.
Yes, it has a great price. Yes, it will probably sell
very, very well for Dell. No, this won't change the
world as you know it. The truth is that at least a
dozen other manufacturers have released or announced
similar netbooks before the new Inspiron Mini 9 arrived.
Dell had all the time in the world to develop something
that slaughters the competition in a way that only
Dell can. Unfortunately, while the Mini 9 is great,
it still suffers from a few of the same problems we've
seen in other netbooks (heat, annoying glossy plastics,
bad keyboard, and a small battery that could have
been bigger without sacrificing much size or weight).
Ultimately, the Dell Inspiron Mini
9 is a fabulous netbook that is sure to end up on
many Christmas lists this year ... but it's only "your
new best friend" if you're willing to overlook
a few flaws.
Pros
* Small and light
* Easy to use
* Very well built and durable
* Responsive Synaptics touchpad
* Easy to upgrade RAM, SSD, and wireless cards
* No noisy cooling fan
* Low price for an ultraportable
Cons
* Gets a little hot
* Glossy plastic lid is a magnet for fingerprints
* No F11 or F12 keys, other function keys in strange
location
* 4-cell battery is nice, 6-cell battery would be
better
BY: JerryJ, NotebookReview.com Editor
PUBLISHED: 9/4/2008
Dell Studio
17 Review
Last year Dell finally realized
that consumers don’t want another nameless,
faceless black and gray laptop that gets lost in the
crowd. Today’s mobile generation wants notebooks
that are as unique and stylish as possible. The result
was the amazingly attractive and amazingly popular
13.3? XPS M1330 and the 15.4? Dell XPS M1530. Taking
things one step further, Dell announced the highly
customizable Studio 15 and Studio 17 notebooks.
dell 15 bannerIs the 17-inch Dell
Studio 17 as impressive and unique as Dell wants you
to believe? Keep reading and you’ll find out.
Our pre-production Dell Studio 17 notebook is equipped
with the following specifications:
* Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz)
processor
* Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
* 17-inch WUXGA Glossy Display (1920 x 1200)
* 3GB system RAM - 2 DIMM (DDR2-667)
* 320GB 5400rpm HDD
* 256MB (GDDR2) ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 graphics
* Webcam and Fingerprint reader
* Backlit keyboard
* Slot Load DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer DVD+R write capacity
* Dell Wireless 1510N
* 9-cell battery (85WHr)
* Dimensions: 1.18? to 1.69? x 15.46? x 11.36? (H
x W x D)
* Weight: 7.87lbs
* Other: “Dell Dock” software; 30-day
security trial; 3GB Dell DataSafe; Dell Support Center
* Base Price: $999
* Price as configured: $1,599 (E-Value Code: 1-DNDPVA1)
Free Delivery with your Dell 17
Studio::www.dell.com.au
Build and Design
For a number of years the phrase,
“Dude, you’re getting a Dell” from
old Dell television commercials was synonymous with
heavy, thick, and boxy laptops that offered great
value but where short on style. In fact, several competing
laptop manufacturers developed sleek notebooks over
the last five years that attracted consumers mainly
due to their more “personal” appearance.
The new Studio line from Dell is the latest example
of how Dell has finally learned that the package matters
almost as much as the contents of the box.
The first time you look at the Studio
17 it’s as if Dell added a few inches to the
XPS M1530, cut out the brushed aluminum parts, and
offered a few more ways to customize the look. The
end result is an impressive looking desktop replacement.
I use the term “desktop replacement” because
most people in the market for a 17-inch notebook aren’t
planning to haul their notebook everywhere and use
it during regular airline travel.
What the Studio 17 lacks in mobility
it more than makes up for in solid design and construction.
As mentioned above, the Studio 17 takes several design
elements from the latest XPS notebooks: the wedge-shaped
profile, drop hinge, slot-loading optical drive, and
touch-sensitive media buttons are all hallmarks of
the XPS M1330 and M1530. That said, there’s
more to the Studio 17 than just design elements from
the XPS line.
The Studio 17 is available in your
choice of seven colors: Plum Purple, Tangerine Orange,
Flamingo Pink, Midnight Blue, Ruby Red, Spring Green
or standard Jet Black. Our pre-production unit came
with the “Midnight Blue” paint job and
it looks absolutely flawless. The matte paint has
an almost rubber-like texture similar to the paint
used on last year’s Inspiron notebooks and,
of course, the XPS notebooks. Dell also took the customization
options one step further by offering an optional high
gloss “Graphite Grey” color that comes
in your choice of black, blue, pink, or red edge trim
around the display back and sides
Another nice touch is the use of
an imprinted design on the palmrest area (also on
the display lid if you select the high gloss graphite
grey color options). The design looks like a close-up
view of a topographical map and is yet another way
that the Studio notebooks stand out from the rest
of the Dell lineup.
In terms of overall chassis construction
the Studio 17 is quite solid and suffers from virtually
no flex or creaks when squeezed and twisted between
your hands. I don’t recommend tossing the Studio
17 across the room, but it should survive a drop from
your desk without significant damage.
The one design element I’m
not 100 percent in love with is the bottom access
panel. Rather than have the typical RAM cover, hard
drive covers, and main panel on the bottom of the
notebook, the Studio 17 uses a single, massive panel
that provides access to all of the notebook at once.
While this is helpful for those people who want to
make multiple modifications or service their notebook,
exposing the entire bottom of the notebook is a little
intimidating for people who just want to upgrade their
RAM.
Screen
Adding to the lengthy list of customizable
options on this notebook, Dell offers the Studio 17
with a WXGA+ (1440 x 900) glossy display, a WUXGA
(1920 X 1200) glossy display, or a WXGA+ LED (1440
x 900) glossy display. Our review unit came with the
WUXGA (1920 x 1200) glossy display and it looks wonderful.
I’m certain it would be even more impressive
when paired with the optional Blu-ray drive for 1080p
HD movies.
The screen on our pre-production
unit looks beautiful from straight on. There was some
slight uneven backlighting in the upper right corner
of our review unit, but this is a pre-production notebook
and the high-resolution display panels used in Dell
notebooks usually tend to be better than the lower-resolution
offerings. The horizontal viewing angles on our review
unit are great. Upper vertical viewing angles are
good, but colors did begin to invert at lower viewing
angles when the screen is tilted back.
One additional item of note that
somewhat falls into the category of the screen is
the new “Dell Dock” application included
with all Studio notebooks. The Dell Dock is a unique
visual interface similar to the Dock in Apple’s
Mac OS X or the StarDock Object Dock application.
The primary benefit of this application is that it
helps you keep your desktop free of clutter and makes
using Vista a little more user friendly. Kudos to
Dell for adding this to the desktop interface on the
Studio 17.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Media
Controls
The keyboard on the Studio 17 is
one of the better keyboards I’ve used on a 17-inch
notebook. The keyboard is firm with only a minor bit
of flex detected near the “K” key. All
the keys have excellent travel and cushion. The Studio
17 is really quite a pleasure to type on and the dedicated
number pad is something that I personally love to
see on larger notebooks. The only complaint I have
for the keyboard is that if your fingernails are slightly
long they might get caught under the keys, this shouldn’t
be a problem for most males though. As you can see
below, the keyboard also features a nice backlight
function when you’re typing in the dark.
The touchpad works well enough,
though it’s seems a little on the small side
given the size of the notebook. The mouse buttons
have excellent travel and cushion, though I did feel
like they made a bit too much of a “clicking”
sound when pressed. The good news with the touchpad
is that it’s responsive, has dedicated scroll
areas and the glossy textured feel is extremely good.
A series of touch-sensitive media
buttons with white LED backlights are located above
the keyboard similar to the buttons on the M1330 and
M1530. One nice feature about the media buttons is
that the LEDs only stay lit for a fraction of a second
after being pressed, so they won’t distract
you by staying lit all the time.
Dell also includes a Media Center
remote control that fits neatly into the ExpressCard
slot on the side of the notebook. This is a great
accessory for presentations or if you want to control
a DVD from across the room.
Check out the latest Dell 17 Studio
deals:www.dell.com.au
Article: http://www.notebookreview.com/
Dell XPS
M1730
Boasting a new PhysX card and plenty
of other perks for gamers, Dell’s latest rig
is fast, fun, and ready for the next generation of
eye candy.
Dell goes full-throttle with its
latest XPS notebook, the M1730, which packs an Intel
Core 2 Extreme X7900 processor, dual Nvidia graphics
processors in an SLI configuration, and Ageia’s
PhysX controller, which theoretically makes games
look more realistic than before. Although the whole
experience is still a work in progress, at $3,824,
the XPS M1730 is ready for whatever you can throw
at it, and then some.Our tested configuration features
Smoke accents on the lid, but you can opt for Red,
Blue, or White inserts instead. The cross-hatched
gray top is more demure than some designs we’ve
seen from Dell, though the lit lid accents still scream
gaming rig, which isn’t ideal for all users.
Speakers in the front bezel sport red backlights,
and the lid’s Dell logo and the mousepad’s
XPS logo are lit as well. The backlit accents can
light up in different colors or can be turned off
altogether with the Dell QuickSet utility.
Under the lid, you’ll be pleased
to find that Dell has upgraded the M1710’s keyboard;
a full number pad now sits in its rightful place alongside
the primary keys. The XPS touchpad has been moved
to the left so that it remains centered on the space
bar. The silver keys are spaced well, have a responsive,
pleasant feel, and are backlit with a clean white
light that you can easily toggle off with a Function-key
press.
Surrounding the keyboard is the
same patterned gray that adorns the lid. The large
Power button is easy to see; there’s also a
button for Dell’s Media Direct function, which
gives instant media access without booting Windows.
A two-megapixel webcam sits above the screen.
The highlight under the lid is the
1920 x 1200-pixel WUXGA display, which features the
same glossy, glare-reducing coating as on older XPS
models. It’s just as nice as before; we had
little issue with glare; details were crisp; and colors
popped. DVDs and games looked fantastic, and the image
was equally usable for Web pages and documents. The
wide viewing angles were useful, as well.
The rig is rather chunky at 16 x
11.9 x 2 inches and 11 pounds, with another 3 pounds
for the power brick, which is the size of a paperback.
The M1730’s set of ports hasn’t expanded
much from last year’s XPS offering: four USB
ports, DVI and S-video out, FireWire, and a five-in-one
card reader. Dual headphone ports and a mic port complement
the front bezel media controls. After listening to
Toshiba’s impressive sound system, the sound
from the XPS’ two-watt speakers and five-watt
subwoofer seemed weak. We would have liked to have
seen an HDMI port as well.
Quite impressive is the notebook’s
storage space; our sample came with two 200GB 7,200-rpm
SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration. The heart
of this system, however, is the CPU and SLI graphics
card combo. The 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900 is
overclockable to 3.4 GHz, and the dual 256MB GeForce
GO 8700M GT graphics processors provide plenty of
muscle. Dell also offers its Rapid Driver Update program,
which has all the latest fully tested drivers and
lets you download drivers that Dell hasn’t yet
tested. We think gamers will take very kindly to this
program, but even more, we hope Nvidia gets its DirectX
10 drivers optimized for Vista in the near future.
Our gaming scores were very good:
152 frames per second on F.E.A.R. at autodetect settings.
That’s just slightly behind Alienware’s
161 fps on its Area-51 m9750–the fastest notebook
to date. Every game we played was nothing less than
a pleasure. The 26,983 3DMark03 score shows a lot
of promise, however, as does the 8,064 on 3DMark06.
The m9750 we tested notched better scores of 34,585
and 8,706 on those tests. But the 6,940 score on PCMark05
is better than the m9750’s 5,552 and one of
the best we’ve seen.
What makes the XPS M1730 stand out,
however, is its PhysX card–something Alienware
has yet to add to a notebook. It’s supposed
to take such elements as weight, velocity, and force
into account. In other words, in a game, a wall won’t
just be knocked down; rather, the wall will collapse
according to how the character hit it, how much the
character supposedly weighs, and how much force was
applied. These effects also apply to items falling
into water and making an appropriate-sized splash,
or the ability for a soldier to shoot his weapon down
stairs instead of just straight ahead. So far, the
only games that can take advantage of this processor
are Ghost Recon 2, Inferno, CellFactor: Revolution,
Unreal Tournament 3, and Warmonger. The effects are
noticeable. We tested with Ghost Recon and definitely
noticed that there’s more realism in destructible
environments and cloth; debris lingers rather than
disappearing, and natural environments look more lush,
since foliage is rendered with more detail and movement.
In addition to all the power inside
the machine, the small gaming LCD on the keyboard
deck is also a strong gaming component; depending
on the game you’re playing, it can show a character’s
health and life, how many bullets you have left, or
whatever else pertains to a given game. This screen
works with any game that supports a G15 gaming keyboard.
When you’re not gaming, this screen can show
RSS feeds, the time, and a countdown timer, with a
button to the right to quickly change modes. A battery
readout option would be nice for nongaming use, however,
and we wish the screen were on the bezel of the display,
not the keyboard deck, to make it easier to read.
Other than the lack of HDMI output,
we have two other complaints. We think at this price
a Blu-ray drive should be included. Second, only one
year of support comes standard, but extended warranties
are available.
Check out the latest Dell XPS M1730
Studio deals:www.dell.com.au
Overall, the M1730 is an impressive
piece of hardware that will only get better as more
DX 10-compatible titles hit the market. And while
nearly $4,000 is a lot to spend on a gaming machine,
it’s currently the only one on the market with
the PhysX card, and it still costs less than the top-notch
systems from its fiercest gaming competitors.
Article sources: www.laptopmag.com
Dell’s
XPS 630
Dell XPS 630Dell’s XPS 630
is a stylish and competitively priced mainstream gaming
PC that can be souped up with extras such as an Ageia
PhysX accelerator, a Blu-ray Disc drive, and up to
4GB of DDR2-800 Corsair Dominator memory.
And though Dell recently integrated
its XPS and Alienware development teams for future
products, a spokesperson confirmed that the company
will fully support current XPS notebooks and desktops
(such as the high-end 730 H2C, the multimedia-themed
XPS 420, and the iMac-rival One) for the remainder
of what is typically a 12-month life-cycle for these
products. The company declined to confirm when the
first Alienware/Dell hybrid systems are likely to
appear.
Our $3229 XPS 630 system (the price
drops to $2889 without the bundled 22-inch Dell SP2208WFP
monitor, and lesser configurations start at $1199;
pricing is as of June 6, 2008) packed 3GB of RAM and
Intel’s 3-GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 processor–an
older quad-core chip that continues to deliver strong
performance. Two speedy 160GB, 10,000-rpm Western
Digital Raptor hard drives configured in a RAID 0
array provide a modest 320GB storage. The system also
carried dual 512MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GT graphics
boards bridged as one via SLI (nVidia’s Scalable
Link Interface).
Dell lets you choose either Windows
XP or Windows Vista as the operating system for your
XPS 630. Our unit, equipped with Vista Premium, earned
a score of 123 on PC World’s WorldBench 6 test
suite–on a par with results we’ve recorded
for most competing desktops that use the same QX6850
CPU. To put that into perspective, consider that our
current top-performing desktops (for example, the
Penryn QX9650-equipped War Machine M1 Elite) posted
WorldBench scores edging into the low 130s. Though
Dell doesn’t recommend or ship the 630 overclocked,
you can bump up the CPU and memory speeds yourself
if you know what you’re doing.
The 630’s SLI-rigged 8800
GT graphics support smooth performance by any graphically
intensive PC game. For instance, the system averaged
a frame rate of 162 frames per second while running
Doom 3 at 1024 by 768 resolution with antialiasing
turned on.
SLI configurations tend to provide
their greatest benefit when powering games at higher
resolutions–say, 1600 by 1200 and above. If
high-resolution gaming is your thing, you might want
to upgrade from the bundled 22-inch wide-screen LCD
(supporting 1680 by 1050 resolution) to a larger,
more-capable monitor like Dell’s 24-inch E248WFP
($100 extra), which can natively display 1920 by 1200
pixels on screen.
The XPS 630’s industrial design
is reminiscent of–but scaled back from–that
of Dell’s XPS 720 desktop. The 630’s ATX
case bares brushed aluminum sides and top, with a
choice of black or red plastic front and back panels
that feature large grilles. The side panel easily
unlatches to reveal a well-organized interior with
neat cable management, 750W power supply, and a tool-less
hard-drive tray. For a case of its size, it offers
respectable expansion room, with one 5.25-inch drive
bay available at the front (a DVD±RW drive
occupies the other one). Meanwhile, several internal
slots are open: two regular PCI, one PCI Express x8,
and one PCI Express x1.
The motherboard for this system
uses nVidia’s 650i SLI chip set. Unfortunately,
this chip set limits each of the system’s two
PCI Express x16 slots (used for the dual graphics
cards) to 8X speed in SLI mode, raising the possibility
of an old-school bandwidth bottleneck that is less
common today than it used to be. Another issue: Dell’s
own LightFX software, which controls the colors of
the case exterior’s four LED lighting zones,
has problems with this chip set; this conflict forces
users to resort to nVidia’s ESA light effects
software instead. An open standard created by nVidia,
ESA (which stands for Enthusiast System Architecture)
promotes two-way communication between PC components.
The XPS 630 is among the first ready-made PCs to support
it.
The XPS 630 ships with Dell’s
standard wired optical mouse and multimedia keyboard
combo. You also get a 15-month subscription to the
PC-cillin’s Internet security suite. Chip-set
concerns aside, the XPS 630 is a well-built, highly
customizable midrange gaming system that delivers
good performance for the price.
Article Source: http://www.pcworld.com
Dell XPS
M1530
Dell made a serious effort in 2007
to listen to customer feedback criticizing Dell’s
older, thick and heavy laptops. The result was the
amazingly thin and light XPS M1330, one of the sexiest
looking notebooks of 2007. The new Dell XPS M1530
is an impressive 15.4? screen notebook designed similar
to (just larger than) the very successful 13-inch
XPS M1330.
Our pre-production XPS M1530
is equipped with the following specs:
* 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL
glossy screen
* “Crimson” red paint (also available
in “Tuxedo” black or “Alpine”
white)
* 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, Santa Rosa chipset
(up to 2.4GHz available)
* 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
* 160GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD (32GB SSD drive available)
* Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive
* NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3
* WWAN option for Verizon
* Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n (Intel 4965), Bluetooth option
* Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam
* HDMI, VGA, S-Video, Firewire/1394, three USB 2.0
ports, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), fingerprint
reader
* Media Center remote located in ExpressCard slot
* Windows Vista Home Premium
* Dimensions (with 6-cell battery): 14.06? x 10.34?
x 0.93? - 1.38?
* Weight starts at 5.9 pounds with 6-cell battery
(6.29 pounds with 9-cell)
Build and Design
The Dell XPS M1330 has received
high praise for its design and feature set in a 13.3?
portable form factor, but the most popular selling
laptops are in the 15.4? screen size. Dell, being
in the business of selling more laptops and making
customers happy, figured it would be wise to offer
something that’s larger and appeals to more
people. And that’s exactly what the M1530 is
— a larger version of the M1330.
As we said in our First Look article,
it’s as if Dell put the M1330 on steroids and
the M1530 is the end result — the laptop size
increased proportionally and it’s also more
powerful in its new form. The design and look is mostly
the same, the keyboard feels the same, the touch sensitive
controls are replicated and for the most part the
ports are the same (though you do get an extra USB
2.0 port on the M1530). That said, when we compare
the M1530 and the M1330 side by side we can’t
help but think the design of the M1530 is “overweight”
in comparison.
There are some notable differences
other than size between the M1530 and M1330 however.
The M1530 can be configured with a more powerful Nvidia
8600M GT graphics card for boosted gaming performance
over the XPS M1330 that only offers up to the Nvidia
8400M GS. The M1530 also offers up to a 2.80GHz Intel
T7800 processor, whereas the XPS M1330 tops out at
an Intel T7500 2.2GHz processor. Obviously if you’re
all about the performance metrics and don’t
carry a laptop around much, the XPS M1530 is a better
fit for you.
Some people might wonder if they
should go for the Dell Inspiron 1520 15.4? notebook
or the Dell XPS M1530 15.4?. After all, they’re
both consumer notebooks from the same company that
can be configured similarly, so what’s the point?
For one, the XPS M1530 is way more eye catching in
terms of design than the Inspiron 1520. The barrel
hinge, dropdown screen and sloping look of the M1530
is just cool. Second, the XPS M1530 weighs just 5.9
lbs with a standard 6-cell battery and just 6 lbs
and 4.6 ounces (6.29 lbs) with its 9-cell battery.
The Inspiron 1520 weighs more than 7 lbs with the
6-cell battery. Other benefits of the XPS M1530 notebook
include a sleeker slot loading optical drive, touch
sensitive light-up buttons, dedicated XPS tech support,
media remote control and thinner profile.
Screen
Another difference that should be
mentioned is that currently the M1530 is offered with
only a standard 15.4? widescreen XGA (1280 x 800)
display, while the XPS M1330 has the option for a
thinner and more power efficient LED backlit display.
Dell says the XPS M1530 should be available next year
with different resolution screens … including
LED backlight options.
Even though some will be a little
put out by the lack of LED backlighting being offered
on the M1530 initially, the standard CCFL display
is still gorgeously bright and flawless. Plus you
get a higher 2.0MP web cam with the standard thicker
CCFL screen, whereas with a thinner LED screen only
a VGA resolution cam can be fitted.
The screen on our pre-production
unit looks flawless from straight on and the horizontal
viewing angles are great. Upper vertical viewing angles
are good, but colors did begin to invert at lower
viewing angles when the screen is tilted back.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Media
Controls
The keyboard on the XPS M1530 is
fairly similar to the XPS M1330, with obvious reasons.
The keyboard is firm with virtually no flex and the
keys have excellent travel and cushion. The XPS M1530
is really quite a pleasure to type on. The only complaint
I have for the keyboard is that if your fingernails
are slightly long they might get caught under the
keys, this shouldn’t be a problem for most males
though.
The touchpad works well enough,
though it’s seems a little on the small side
given the size of the notebook. The mouse buttons
have excellent travel and cushion, though I did feel
like they made a bit too much of a “clicking”
sound when pressed. The good news with the touchpad
is that it’s responsive, has dedicated scroll
areas and the textured feel is good.
Check out the latest Dell XPS M1530
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A series of touch-sensitive media
buttons with blue LED backlights are located above
the keyboard similar to the buttons on the M1330.
One nice feature about the media buttons is that the
blue LEDs only stay lit for a fraction of a second
after being pressed, so they won’t distract
you by staying lit all the time.
Dell also includes a Media Center
remote control that fits neatly into the ExpressCard
slot on the side of the notebook. This is a great
accessory for presentations or if you want to control
a DVD from across the room.
Read more of this review at: http://www.notebookreview.com
Dell XPS
M1330 Review
Dell XPS M1330The Dell XPS M1330
is designed for those that want power on the go. If
you’re also fashion conscious and like to standout
in a crowd, the looks of the XPS M1330 will help you
in that area too. Sleek design coupled with a portable
form factor and powerful components come together
to make for a compelling notebook.
Build and Design
Our pre-production XPS M1330 as
equipped:
* 13.3-inch WXGA screen with LED
backlight
* “Crimson” red paint (also available
in “Tuxedo” black or “Pearl”
white)
* 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, Santa Rosa chipset
(up to 2.4GHz available)
* 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
* 160GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD (32GB SSD drive available)
* Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive
* 128MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS
* WWAN option for Verizon
* Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n (Intel 4965), Bluetooth option
* Integrated VGA webcam
* HDMI, VGA, 1394, two USB 2.0 ports, integrated media
reader (MS, SD, xD), fingerprint reader
* Media Center remote located in ExpressCard slot
* Windows Vista Home Premium
* Dimensions 12.5? x 9.4? x 0.87? - 1.33?
* Weight starts at 4 pounds with 6-cell battery
The design of the XPS M1330 really
sets it apart. The design is, in a word, striking.
The sloping look and stunning lid, available in three
different colors, are immediately attention grabbing.
The slope is akin to a fast car tear drop look. And
while the Dell XPS M1330 isn’t designed to go
fast in the physical sense, it looks like it could
if you just put wheels on it.
Once opened the M1330 provides more
eye candy in terms of design. The buttons along the
top edge are touch sensitive and light up with a soft
glow when pressed. They look very stylish. The LED
buttons are a bright blue and also eye-catching in
their appearance. The silver colored keyboard and
brushed aluminum casing on the inside give a slightly
industrial look that would tell you there’s
some muscle to this machine.
The hinge on the M1330 is quite
unique, it’s very rounded in its look and rotates
to bring the screen about even with the keyboard for
a slightly lower overall profile. The LED backlit
screen is super thin, which keeps weight down and
again contributes to the looks. An integrated web
camera sits at the top of the screen, it’s well
hidden but noticeable.
Overall we have to say that the
M1330 is one of the best looking notebooks on the
market today.
Screen
When configuring the XPS M1330 you
have two options for the screen — a backlit
13.3? LED display that’s thin and light or regular
cathode backlit display that’s slightly thicker
and not as bright and evenly lit as the LED backlit
display. We were lucky enough to have the LED backlit
display, and while it costs $150 more than the standard
display, it’s a worthwhile upgrade. The picture
and brightness you get is just amazing! It offers
330 nits of brightness and is simply gorgeous to look
at. It’s glossy in nature so you’ll get
some reflection, but the rich and bold colors that
come with having this type of screen finish is worth
it.
The only downside to the LED backlit
display is the fact that you can only get a VGA webcam.
If you get the regular WXGA display you can configure
a 2MP web camera. We think VGA resolution is enough
for things such as video chat applications, but if
you really feel the need for a higher resolution web
camera and want to save a bit of money too, then go
with the regular WXGA screen option.
Speakers
The speakers for the M1330 are located
at the top of the keyboard area. There’s not
much to write home about the speakers, they get loud
enough that’s for sure, but the sound is slightly
tinny as is the case with nearly all laptop speakers.
The volume audio controls are touch sensitive buttons
along the top right side of the keyboard. It’s
a little hard to use these buttons if you have big
fingers, and there’s no on screen feedback to
tell you you’ve actually pressed the button.
Overall the volume control buttons are tough to use,
though they look nice, an old fashioned volume dial
control is easier to use.
If you prefer to use headphones
to the built-in, you’re set. There are two headphone
ports to capture audio from, both are located on the
front of the notebook. If you’re trying to attach
external speakers this isn’t as handy, but since
this is an on the go notebook it’s probably
not an issue.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the XPS M1330 is
fairly similar to the older XPS M1210, though it does
feel more spread out with larger keys so overall the
keyboard is better. One thing that’s definitely
better with M1330 is that the keyboard is more firm.
On the M1210 there was some sink on the right side
of the keyboard, but with the M1330 it’s firm
and solid all over. The XPS M1330 is really quite
a pleasure to type on. The only complaint I have for
the keyboard is that if your fingernails are slightly
long they might get caught under the keys, this shouldn’t
be a problem for most males though.
One thing to mention is that with
the 9-cell battery in you get an overall greater slope
to the keyboard, we actually like this for ergonomics,
it feels more comfortable for typing.
The touchpad works well enough,
though it’s on the small side. The Apple MacBook
is a 13.3? screen notebook and the touchpad is probably
twice the size of what you get on the M1330. The mouse
buttons are fine, though Andrew would prefer they
had a little more travel to them. The good news with
the touchpad is that it’s responsive, has dedicated
scroll areas and the textured feel is good.
Performance and Benchmarks
The M1330 is a remarkably capable
performer in its price range thanks to the Intel Santa
Rosa processor platform and the Nvidia GeForce Go
8400M GS video card with 128MB of dedicated graphics
memory. While there are better performing gaming systems
on the market in the $1,500 to $2,000 price range
with 256MB of dedicated memory, the M1330 provides
more than enough power for casual gaming … even
with some of the newest games.
That said, we experienced some problems
getting 3DMark05 and 3DMark06 to run smoothly on the
pre-production M1330 straight out of the box thanks
to some Vista driver issues. After spending a few
hours running Windows Update and hunting for drivers
online Jerry was able to get both 3DMark05 and 3DMark06
to run consistently and managed to improve some of
the benchmark numbers from our first look review.
Hopefully any driver issues will
be sorted out when Dell ships actual production units
of the M1330 to customers. However, the driver issue
we experienced shouldn’t deter anyone from this
genuinely impressive system.
Heat and Noise
The system fan and heatsinks in
the M1330 do a great job managing heat when the system
is under load … as we discovered when we ran
multiple benchmarks back to back. The CPU temperature
peaked at only 58 degrees Celsius during multiple
3DMark05 and 3DMark06 tests. The fan moved a significant
amount of hot air but the noise was reasonably low
and wasn’t noticeable over background noise
unless the room was perfectly quiet.
One thing to mention is that we
kept the 9-cell extended life battery attached to
the M1330 during these benchmarks. The extended life
battery lifts the system off the desk and allows air
to move under the notebook case … helping to
cool the system. When we performed the same benchmarks
with the standard 4-cell battery (with the case resting
flush against the desk) the CPU temperatures peaked
at 64 degrees Celsius.
The attractive brushed aluminum
surface of the palm rests did heat up during benchmarking,
but the temperatures remained at comfortable levels.
The left palm rest was slightly warmer than the right.
If you are particularly sensitive to temperatures
you might find the warmth uncomfortable, but most
users will be unlikely to complain about this.
The hard drive in our pre-production
unit was virtually silent and made no audible squeals
or scratching noises. The overall lack of noise coming
from the fan and hard drive on the M1330 should be
a welcome surprise for people with sensitive hearing
… particularly for those who owned the M1210.
In fact, the only noticeable amount of unwelcome noise
coming from the M1330 is from the slot-loading drive
when it loads or ejects a disk.
Input and Output Ports
The port selection of the M1330
is remarkably good for a notebook of this size. Here’s
a quick rundown of what you get:
* Two USB 2.0 ports (one on the
left and one on the right)
* IEEE 1394 / FireWire port
* VGA monitor out port
* HDMI port
* Dual headphone / line-out ports
* Microphone in port
* ExpressCard slot
* Ethernet LAN port
* SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD card slot reader
* Biometric security/finger print reader
Compared to the M1210 (right) the
M1330 (left) the right side has an ExpressCard slot
(Media Center remote), wireless on/off, slot-loading
optical drive, USB port, and security lock slot. (view
large image)
Again, compared to the M1210 (right)
the left side of the M1330 has a power jack, VGA port,
USB port, HDMI port, and Firewire port. (view large
image)
There’s nothing to see on
the back of the M1330 (left) except the fan vent.
(view large image)
OS and Software
Dell was gracious enough to install
a minimal amount of bloatware on the pre-production
M1330 we received. While most experienced users will
likely spend the first 30 to 60 minutes uninstalling
some bloatware from the system, the many less technically
minded owners will find the included applications
quite useful.
Of course, Microsoft Vista is a
bit of a mixed bag for users as of this writing. There
will continue to be minor headaches with drivers,
updates, and application patches until Vista becomes
a more seasoned and widespread OS. That said, anyone
already familiar with Vista should have no trouble
with the M1330 and less experienced users should only
need a few weeks to feel perfectly comfortable with
the interface.
Camera
As previously mentioned, the M1330
comes with either a VGA web camera (with the LED backlight
display) or a two-megapixel web camera with the standard
display. Even with the lower resolution VGA camera
in our test unit we can safely say the M1330 is a
capable performer for teleconference or online gaming.
Brightness, color and contrast are all near perfect,
and the face tracking feature lets you keep your face
front and center during video conferences. If you
can manage to keep your face “somewhere”
near the front of the computer the camera’s
face tracking feature will frame your mug nicely.
Battery
The 9-cell battery is the way to
go if you’re doing any traveling, which you
likely will be if you decide to purchase this notebook.
With the screen set to 3/8 brightness, wireless on,
and idling without doing any work the XPS M1330 squeezed
out 4 hours and 45 minutes of battery life. If you’re
watching a DVD on this notebook you’ll get somewhere
just over 3 hours of battery life with the 9-cell.
If you go for the smaller 4-cell battery the run life
will be more than cut in half, but you’ll have
a lighter overall notebook. It’s always a tough
decision when deciding between a lighter weight battery
that costs less and gives you less life or a larger
battery that weighs more and costs more. You’ll
just have to decide which battery better fits your
needs. If money is no object, get both batteries and
use whichever one suits you best for the occasion!
Conclusion
With a design that is second to
none in its price range and excellent performance
the Dell XPS M1330 is sure to be one of the most popular
notebooks of 2007. As of this writing the M1330 First
Look Review is already the most popular article in
our forums based on views and replies.
While issues like warm palm rests,
awkward media buttons, a noisy slot-loading drive,
and somewhat heavy weight with the 9-cell battery
will make some demanding buyers look elsewhere, most
consumers looking for a 13.3-inch notebook will be
hard pressed to find a better notebook in the same
price range.
Pros:
* Attractive design
* Solid build quality
* Excellent performance
* LED backlit display is amazing
* Good built-in camera … even the VGA unit
* Nice keyboard
* Attractive design (Yes, we said it twice.)
Cons:
* 4.5 pounds with 9-cell battery
* Gets a little too warm particularly on palm rests
* Touch sensative media buttons don’t work very
well
* Slot-loading drive is a little loud
Article source: www.notebookreview.com
Dell Latitude
E6400
The Dell Latitude D630 has had one
of the most successful runs in business laptops, gracing
the desks of countless professionals over the past
two years. But at this point it’s so long in
the tooth that it lacks features as simple as a built-in
media card reader—something that can be found
on most business laptops today. The Latitude E6400
($1,888 direct) is a major transformation, so much
so that it bears little resemblance, visual or otherwise,
to its predecessors. The brushed-aluminum-style case,
a resurfaced interior, brand-new Intel parts, and,
yes, a media card reader are just a few of the upgrades
Dell has made in its business laptop overhaul.The
D630’s matte silver design, once appealing,
now looks outdated. The E6400 continues its use of
magnesium alloys but gives the case a trendy brushed-aluminum
look. The finish is actually a paint job that makes
it look like the real thing, except the real thing
would have been sturdier. The lid of the HP EliteBook
6930p, for example, is clad in actual ruggedized aluminum,
which guards against scratches and nicks that would
otherwise spoil the design over time. The E6400 is
more scratch resistant, at least more so than the
D630. It’s definitely trendier than the Lenovo
ThinkPad T400, but whether that’s a plus depends
on whom you ask. There are red and blue configurations
for the E6400, as well, because not every working
professional dresses in conservative attire.
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The E6400 weighs 5.6 pounds with
its 9-cell battery; that makes it heavier than the
HP 6930p’s 5.3 pounds (4-cell battery) and the
Lenovo T400’s 5.2 pounds (6-cell), but not by
much. Keep in mind, too, that its 9-cell, 85-Wh battery
is by far the biggest, which translates to longest-lasting,
so it’s easier to forgive the extra heft. Another
thing about the nine-cell: It protrudes an inch from
the back instead of from the front, as with the previous
D630. (There are also smaller 4- and 6-cell battery
options available.)
The E6400’s 14-inch widescreen
is as bright as the 14-inch screens on the T400 and
the 6930p. And it’s matte, too, so you don’t
get the glare coming from the glossy ones found on
consumer laptops. The 1,440-by-900 resolution is the
same as you find on the T400 and the 6930p, with an
option to go down to 1,280-by-800 for those who want
to save $129.
The interior gets a complete makeover
as well. The resurfaced keyboard is smoother than
the D630’s and delivers a superb typing experience,
but it’s still second best to the T400’s.
As with the D630, you have dual pointing devices—a
touchpad and a pointing stick. Though not as responsive
as Lenovo’s TrackPoint technology, the pointing
stick doesn’t feel as stiff as the D630’s,
or even the 6930p’s. The mouse buttons seem
bigger and are as silent as the T400’s. The
palm rests, I would argue, could have used a brushed
aluminum treatment similar to that of the frame, but
that’s an aesthetic preference, not a functional
one. The one keyboard feature that the E6400 has over
the T400 and the 6930p is an ambient backlit keyboard,
which is a terrific addition that is very useful in
poorly lit areas like planes, conference rooms, and
hotel rooms.
A wide selection of features makes
the E6400 as versatile as the 6930p and the T400.
The most significant addition, in my opinion, is the
SD slot. Everyone, even business professionals, carries
digital cameras, and having a built-in reader makes
life that much easier. The 6930p and the T400 have
had card readers for almost a year now. The E6400
comes with four USB ports, one doubling as an eSATA
port. It has a FireWire port, an ExpressCard (or PC
Card) option, and VGA-out like the 6930p and the T400.
It also has a dizzying range of hard drive options,
but I think that the 160GB, 7,200-rpm drive my system
was configured with was a good choice. You can go
up to 250GB ($55) or save some money by settling for
an 80GB drive. As in the T400, pricier options (a
64GB or a 128GB SSD, $450 to $600) are available.
SSDs have a reputation for bolstering battery life
and data transfer speeds, as well as extending the
lifespan of your laptop.
The test configuration also came
with mobile broadband, also known as a cellular modem,
which accesses a wireless 3G network, similar to a
cell phone. Verizon’s EV-DO modem was activated
on this system, and it worked flawlessly using Dell’s
ControlPoint wireless software. I roamed around New
York City and managed average download speeds of 800
megabits per second. If your company is willing to
spring for the expensive plan ($60 to $80 per month),
mobile broadband is one of those features that can
save you from serious downtime in remote areas where
Wi-Fi is not available. Not to be outdone, though,
the 6930p and the T400 have a new technology called
Gobi wireless, in which different data carriers (such
as AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and Vodafone) can be
integrated into one laptop.
As with the D630, the E6400 is highly
configurable. Although the configuration I reviewed
doesn’t have the raw horsepower of the T400
and the 6930p, you have the option of choosing faster—albeit
more expensive—parts. The 2.53-GHz Intel Core
2 Duo P9500 is probably a better option than the 2.8-GHz
processors found in the T400 and 6930p, as it is energy
efficient and fast enough to tackle any workload,
not just word processing and Web surfing. It also
creates room in your company’s budget for other
features, like mobile broadband. Although this configuration
comes with 2GB of memory, it isn’t DDR3 memory
like that of the T400. You get a marginal performance
boost from DDR3 memory (over DDR2) in applications
like photo editing, database programming, and video
encoding, but its absence here is not a deal breaker.
And although the nVidia Quadro NVS 160 graphics card
is terrific for 3D-related tasks, the E6400 lacks
switchable graphics—the ability to switch to
an integrated graphics chipset to benefit battery
life when needed, as the T400 is able to do.
Because of the lower-clocked processor,
the E6400’s SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score
wasn’t as impressive as the T400’s and
the 6930p’s, trailing the latter pair by 16
and 18 percent, respectively. On video-encoding tests,
Photoshop CS3 scripts, and CineBench R10 scores, the
E6400 outperformed the 6930p but couldn’t catch
up to the T400. But as I said before, there’s
more than enough power to accomplish typical work
tasks. The E6400 was configured with a battery-efficient
processor plus an 85-Wh battery for one reason: awesome
battery life. On the MobileMark 2007 battery test,
the E6400 achieved 5 hours 32 minutes, which basically
translates to an entire cross-country flight. If you
opt for integrated graphics instead of the nVidia
Quadro chipset, battery life could potentially top
7 hours. But if you had the option of switchable graphics,
like the T400 does, you could get the best of both
worlds.
Despite some stiff competition from
Lenovo and HP, the Dell Latitude E6400 is a tremendous
upgrade over the original Latitude D630. A new metallic
look, assorted colors, and a retouched interior are
signs that design is an important criterion in the
corporate world. There are plenty of features and
processing parts to choose from, although the test
configuration is pretty much rock solid. If you had
to nitpick, however, the Lenovo T400, which is our
Editors’ Choice, has the slight edge from the
features and pricing standpoint.
Dell Inspiron
12 Mini
A truly bizarre day to announce
a new notebook, Dell’s Inspiron Mini 12 is officially
the most gargantuan netbook on the block. I wasn’t
exactly blown away by it when I scoped it briefly
a couple months ago, but Laptop was sufficiently impressed
in its more in-depth hands on to compare it to the
MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy—but you know, 0.2
inches thicker, more ports and you know, a thousand
dollars cheaper at only $599.Under the hood, it’s
a standard netbook kit—1.6GHz Atom (though the
more energy efficient next-gen one that lets it live
for up to three hours on a 3-cell battery), smallish
40, 60 or 80GB hard drive, not a whole lotta RAM—though
you’ve got a full-sized keyboard and 1280×800
12-inch screen. Unfortunately, it’s only available
with Vista at launch (which, also oddly, is only in
Japan initially). Since Vista historically runs like
garbage on these things, holding out through the late
November debut here for the XP and Ubuntu variants
coming by year’s end would probably be more
prudent.
That said, the Mini 12 is definitely
an interesting little experiment from Dell—a
mutant mashup of netbook and notebook that might hit
some heretofore undiscovered sweet spot, or simply
look verrry attractive to some given the current economic
climate. Update: Full press release below—apparently
it’s a Twitter machine too:
Slim, Stylish and Well-Connected:
Introducing the Dell Inspiron Mini 12
* New Addition to the Dell Inspiron
Mini Line Expands Personalization Options
* Available First in Japan Through Bic Camera, Kojima
and Sofmap Stores
* Includes Windows Vista Home Basic, Webcam and Bluetooth
ROUND ROCK, Texas—(BUSINESS
WIRE)—Dell today introduced the Inspiron™
Mini 12, a small, easy-to-carry Internet companion
that you can fine tune to fit your specific needs
and deeds. Like its counterpart the Inspiron Mini
9, the Mini 12 is ideal for teens, tweens, travelers
and “Tweeters” to surf the Web1, chat
with friends, blog, stream content, upload photos
or enjoy online videos, music and games.
The Inspiron Mini 12 is available
initially only in Japan through Bic Camera, Kojima
and Sofmap stores and other retail outlets. It will
launch online globally by late November with configurations
starting under $600 (U.S.). Ubuntu and Windows XP®
operating systems also will be available before the
end of the year.
Source www.gizmodo.com
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